The LSU gymnastics team defended its No. 3 preseason ranking against Iowa in the season opener Friday night in the PMAC.
The Tigers, bolstered by seven returning All-Americans, defeated the Hawkeyes 197.125-193.300 in front of the largest home-opening crowd in team history and two new banners in the rafters.

The night began with senior Rheagan Courville’s 2014 national title on vault being added to the “National Champions” banner; the team’s fourth Super Six banner was also added to the collection.
“It was amazing to start our night out with [the national championship banner] and the Super Six because there’s so much pride coming from last season,” Courville said. “To see it all happen at the start of this season was really amazing.”
LSU started out on vault, where Courville led the group with a 9.9 en route to a 49.225 total. The performance gave the Tigers nearly a one-point lead after the first rotation.
“Vault in warm-up was an absolute nightmare,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “We made some changes in that event and [improved] once they settled down.”
Four consecutive scores at or above 9.900 by sophomore Shae Zamardi, junior Randii Wyrick, senior Jessie Jordan and Courville led the Tigers to their second highest bars score in team history at 49.600, and gave the team a 98.825-96.575 at the halfway mark.
The scores were career-highs for Zamardi and Courville, while Wyrick and Jordan tied their career bests.
“[Assistant Coach Jay Clark] makes them perform every day in practice like he wants to see them compete,” Breaux said. “Consistency builds confidence and I think as this bus continues to roll forward and we get to our next stop, we’re hoping we bring the confidence that they created tonight.”

The Tigers built upon their lead on the beam in the third rotation, finishing with a 148.150-145.550 lead, while Iowa was on the floor.
A fall by freshman Myia Hambrick was the one blemish of the rotation, and 9.925 and 9.90 scores by Jordan and freshman Erin Macadaeg brought the crowd back to its feet.
“When I’m on the beam I don’t think about [previous routines] too much,” Jordan said. “I try to stay as calm as possible and just trust what we do in the gym.”
With victory guaranteed, the fourth rotation was a learning experience for the LSU gymnasts on the floor; Courville and sophomore Ashleigh Gnat were docked for going out of bounds, and Hambrick fell on her third tumble.
“They felt bad that they fell, but the team picked up the slack,” Breaux said. “We got a 197; any time you get a 197 there’s a whole lot of teams out there that would love to be doing what we do.”
LSU will look to improve on its opening season score against Kentucky and Arizona State Jan 16 in Lexington, Kentucky.